A family focus and steady

Norfolk fi rm Alan R. Cross & Son can trace its roots back to a returning war hero wanting to set up on his own. Some 70 years later, it’s a thriving business eyeing up steady growth

BY NICK MARTINDALE

Baby boomer

In 1945, as the country was starting its slow process of recovery after the Second World War, a man in his mid-20s returned to his home in Norfolk from serving in the Royal Corp of Signals, where his tasks included laying cables behind enemy lines. It’s hard to imagine the horrors Alan Cross must have endured, but it left him with a love of electrical engineering, and started him on a journey that would lead him to start up his own business fi ve years later.

“He gained employment with a local electrical contractor called Gerald Lee based in Attleborough and worked there for fi ve years, and then in 1950 he decided it was time to branch out on his own,” says Kevin Hurn, who is now contracts manager and director of Alan R. Cross & Son – the current form of that fl edgling fi rm. “He set up as a sole trader, initially just doing work in the local village of Wicklewood, using a trade bike with tools and materials strapped to it.”

Th e business initially took on work in the domestic and agricultural sector, and Alan soon found himself having to take on extra staff . His young son Richard would also join him on jobs as a child, and eventually joined the company himself in 1977, after completing his apprenticeship and working with a number of other local fi rms for several years. “Th e company name was originally Alan Cross Electrical but it then became Alan R. Cross & Son, which is the company name we still have to this day,” says Kevin. Over time, Richard took on more of the day-to-day running of the fi rm, and Alan retired completely in 1985.

Kevin himself joined the business just a year later, having being made redundant from his job as a fi re alarm technician. “I lived in a village about four miles from Wymondham and purely by chance my mother met a friend in Wymondham who was Richard Cross’s next door neighbour,” he recalls. “She told her that Richard was looking to employ an apprentice electrician. I made contact, went for an interview and got the job.”

By this time, the main focus of the business was agricultural and industrial work, and Kevin threw himself into it. “I didn’t really enjoy the domestic house-bashing work, although we did have people who did that,” he says. “I worked on the

Company Alan R. Cross & Son Established 1950 Major projects BUUK Infrastructure head offi ce; installing library automation systems for Norfolk County Council

(L-R) Diane Marsh, Tracey Brown, Richard Cross, Kevin Hurn, George Kerry, Alistair Henderson, Ian Newitt and Terry Bobbin

‘When my mum met her friend and they had that chat which gave me my job and my apprenticeship, it was possibly one of the luckiest days of my life’

tools for about 12 years on diff erent contracts and then Richard asked me if I would like an offi ce position, which was obviously a promotion. Th at was my chance to prove myself by being in charge of a team of electricians, and I still work in that role to this day.” Richard remains the company’s managing director, but these days only tends to work one day a week.

BOUNCING BACK

Today, the business employs 14 people – four offi ce-based and 10 on the tools – and hopes to increase turnover year on year. “Our peak employment was in the late 90s and early 2000s, when we had around 20 staff , but when the recession hit we had to downsize,” he says. “It had been steady growth until that point. Th e hardest job

I’ve ever had to do was to make people redundant during the recession; it was something I didn’t enjoy doing at all, but thankfully we were strong enough to survive.” As well as working with local farms, the business takes on regular work for a number of clients, including BUUK Infrastructure at its head offi ce near Bury St Edmonds and Norfolk 14 The number of people currently employed by Alan

R. Cross & Son

County Council. “We’ve just had a contract with them to work at local libraries all around Norfolk installing automation systems to give 24-hour access to patrons,” he says. “We’ve been installing all the electrical systems for the automatic lighting control and the power supplies to all the data equipment.” It also undertakes a large amount of electrical testing work, producing electrical installation condition reports (EICRs) and PAT testing for landlords and local estate agents.

At one point, the fi rm worked across much of the UK, taking on projects from London to the Midlands and North Wales, but recently the focus has been closer to home. “We still do work in the East Midlands and London as required, but it’s mainly Norfolk and Suff olk,” says Kevin. He even takes on jobs himself in busy periods, he adds, helping out with projects on tight timeframes or undertaking EICRs.

Th e business moved into its current premises in Wymondham in 1988, buying the land and a purpose-built offi ce from a local building contractor who had sold his business. “We expanded it a few years later with additional offi ce space and storage, with parking for four or fi ve vehicles,” he says. “We’ve moved with the times and if the need arose we would do the same again, but it’s still fi t for purpose at the moment.”

LEARNING THE ROPES

Th e plan for the next few years is to grow steadily, taking on schoolleavers. “We’ve always followed the philosophy of employing schoolleavers and apprentices because we believe that’s the best way to start someone in this career, and an apprenticeship gives them a trade,” he says. “It gives them a great insight into how we work.

“It’s not just about being a good electrician; it’s also about being people-friendly and knowing how to deal with customers, and clean up after yourself so you leave a job as you fi nd it. Th at ethic is something we try and transfer through to all of our staff so they all have that mindset.”

Many staff have been with the fi rm since leaving school, he adds, and those who have left have often gone on to set up their own companies. “Even though they’re now our competitors, it’s nice to see they have managed to forge their own way,” he adds.

In summer 2020, the fi rm will be putting on an event in a local pub to celebrate 70 years. Attendees will include Richard and his daughter Tracey, who is the fi rm’s company secretary, as well as Richard’s sister Diane, who was inspirational in helping to expand the company until her retirement in 2018. “We became a limited company in 2002 but the family ethic is still running through the business,” says Kevin. “Tracey’s daughter works part-time in the offi ce as well.”

LEAVING A LEGACY

Alan died in 2016 at 96, says Kevin, but into his fi nal months he would still come into the offi ce. “Being a military man, he would come in and make sure everything was clean and tidy and that people like myself have clean shoes and a smart appearance.”

In time, Kevin can see himself taking more of a back seat. “Some of our senior electricians were apprentices to me when they fi rst started, and one of them would be the ideal candidate to take over,” he says. “I’m not slowing down at the moment; as well as being a contracts manager and company director here, I’m also a local town and district councillor, so I have lots to do outside of work too.”

Th ere’s no doubt that the business is in safe hands, and Kevin says Richard is rightly pleased to see the name continue to thrive. However, he’s also all too aware of how well things have worked out for him. “When my mum met her friend in Wymondham and they had that chat which gave me my job and my apprenticeship, it was possibly one of the luckiest days of my life,” he says. “I’m still here now and really enjoying it.”

96: THE AGE ALAN LIVED TO BEFORE HIS DEATH IN 2016

‘The hardest job I’ve ever had to do was to make people redundant but thankfully we were strong enough to survive’

Nick Martindale is editor of Connections

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